Weddings, proms & nights out · 2026-09-21 · 8-minute read
A wine tour from London, Ontario to Essex County and Pelee Island with LondonLimo.net is a day by the hour - two hours down the 401 to the Lake Erie North Shore's wineries around Kingsville, Harrow and Colchester, four or five tasting rooms with lunch on the shore, and the run home - in an executive SUV for six at $115-135 an hour, a Sprinter for fourteen at $145-175 or a party bus through the partner fleet, ten to twelve hours from a London door and back, with the chauffeur at each lane and the rules aboard Ontario's. Pelee Island's winery is a second day by the ferry from Kingsville or Leamington, and an overnight in Kingsville or Windsor makes the weekend; the wine, brewery and distillery tours page has the service, and this article is the day, winery by winery, with the honest comparison to the Niagara alternative.
The run down
The 401 west from London past Chatham and Tilbury - an hour and forty-five minutes - and off at Essex County's roads south to Kingsville or Harrow; the wineries sit along the lake shore and the county roads between, ten to twenty minutes apart, with the ferry dock at Kingsville for Pelee. The Windsor page has the county's roads and the Chatham-Kent page the 401's stretch.
| Stop | Where | Time | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leave London | Any London address | 8:30 | The 401 west | Coffee at the Tilbury ONroute |
| The first winery | The Kingsville or Colchester shore | 10:30 | The county's largest estates with restaurants and views over the lake | A tasting booked ahead |
| The second | Harrow or the county roads | 11:45 | The boutique estates | Forty-five minutes |
| Lunch | A winery's restaurant or a Kingsville waterfront table | 1:00 | The shore's fish and the county's produce | Ninety minutes |
| The third and fourth | The lake shore | 2:45 | The smaller estates; the cidery | Forty-five minutes each |
| The fifth, or the shore | Colchester's beach; the harbour | 4:30 | The lake at the end of the day | Optional |
| Leave for London | - | 5:30 | The 401 east | Home by 7:45 |
Ten to twelve hours; the Essex Region's tourism site publishes the wineries and their hours.
The Lake Erie North Shore, briefly
Ontario's smallest and southernmost designated wine region, on the same latitude as northern California, with a dozen estates from the large lakeside operations with restaurants and event spaces to the boutique farms on the county roads; the reds ripen here as they do nowhere else in the province, and the tasting rooms are quieter than Niagara's on a Saturday in June. The desk plans four or five and the group chooses.
Pelee Island, the second day
The Pelee Island ferry runs from Kingsville or Leamington to the island in ninety minutes on its season's schedule, the island's winery and its pavilion host the tasting and the lunch, and the island's roads are cycled or driven; the ferry takes vehicles by reservation and the chauffeur's day either crosses with the car or leaves the group at the dock for the island's own transport and meets the evening boat. A Pelee day is a second day with an overnight in Kingsville, and the travel desk books the ferry and the inn.
The overnight: Kingsville or Windsor
Kingsville's inns and the waterfront hotels take the group the night before the Pelee ferry; Windsor's hotels and Caesars are forty minutes north for a group that wants the casino after the wineries; the travel desk books either and the chauffeur's day resumes in the morning.
The vehicles and the per-head cost
Six in an SUV for eleven hours at $125 is $1,375 plus HST, $229 a head; fourteen in a Sprinter at $160 is $1,760, $126 a head; twenty-two in a party bus at $240 is $2,640, $120 a head; a couple in a luxury sedan at $150 is $1,650. The rates page has the figures; the two hours each way are inside the hours, and the desk's honest advice is that the day is best shared by six or more.
The rules, and the pace
Ontario's law aboard as everywhere - alcohol in the bus and the stretch for legal-age passengers, none in the SUV and the Sprinter; the tasting rooms serve to legal age with ID; water on the vehicle; four or five estates and not eight; and a group that has enjoyed the day is driven home at the same pace as one that has not. The etiquette guide has the rest.
The honest comparison with Niagara
Niagara's wine country is two hours twenty east with a hundred wineries, the Falls, the Shaw Festival and the Fallsview hotels; Essex is two hours west with a dozen estates, quieter rooms, the lake and Pelee Island. A first wine day usually goes to Niagara; a second, or a group that has done Niagara, goes to Essex; and the desk says so.
The Detroit addition
A group with passports and a Windsor overnight adds a Detroit evening - the stadium district, the Fox Theatre, the casinos - across the bridge on the cross-border page's rules, and the Detroit page has the city.
The corporate day and the wedding party
A company's client day at the lakeside estates by Sprinter on the corporate account, and a wedding party's Friday in the county before a Saturday wedding at a Kingsville estate: the business page and the wedding page have each.
Three Essex days, as they went
A fiftieth birthday, twelve, June. Byron at 8:30; four estates and lunch at a lakeside restaurant; Colchester's beach at 4:30; home at 8. A Sprinter, eleven and a half hours.
A couple's Pelee weekend, September. A luxury sedan to Kingsville on Friday with two estates on the way; the ferry on Saturday with the car aboard; the island's winery; the evening boat; a Kingsville inn; two more estates on Sunday; home at 6.
A company's client day, eight, October. The office at 8; three estates; lunch at the largest; Windsor's Caesars for dinner; home at 11 on the corporate account.
Booking it
The day is one email or call to the desk with the date, the numbers, the pickup and the estates the group wants; a written quote follows and the desk books the tastings, the ferry and the inn through the travel desk; the wine, brewery and distillery tours page has the service.
Three questions the desk is asked about the Essex day
How many wineries can we visit? Four or five with lunch; a group that lists eight is a group the desk talks down to five, because the tasting rooms are ten to twenty minutes apart and forty-five minutes each is the pace the day needs.
Can we visit on a Sunday? Yes - the estates' Sunday hours are shorter, so the desk leaves London at 8 and finishes by 5.
Is the ferry reliable? The Pelee Island ferry runs on its season's schedule from spring to December, weather permitting, and the desk books the crossing and holds the day's plan to the boat's times. The FAQ has the rest.
The run down, in detail
The 401 west past Woodstock's exit, Chatham's and Tilbury's, with the Chatham-Kent page's ONroute at Tilbury for coffee; then County Road 42 or the 77 south to Leamington and the lake road west to Kingsville, Harrow and Colchester; the county roads are straight and the estates are signed. The Windsor page has the county's roads.
The lakeside estates
The largest of the Lake Erie North Shore's estates sit on the shore road with their restaurants, their patios over the lake and their event barns; a group's tasting is booked ahead, lunch on the patio is the day's centre, and the estate's lot takes the bus.
The boutique farms
The smaller estates on the county roads pour in converted farmhouses and barns with the winemaker at the counter; forty-five minutes each, two or three in the afternoon, and the group's bottles in the trunk. The Essex Region's tourism site lists them.
Pelee Island, in detail
The ferry from Kingsville or Leamington takes ninety minutes to the island's dock, the island's winery and its pavilion host the tasting and the lunch, the island's roads are cycled or driven, and the evening boat returns; a chauffeur's car crosses by reservation or the group takes the island's own transport and the chauffeur meets the boat. The travel desk books the crossing and the Kingsville inn.
Kingsville's overnight
Kingsville's inns and the waterfront hotels take the group the night before the ferry, with the harbour's restaurants for dinner; Windsor's hotels and Caesars are forty minutes north for the group that wants the tables after the wineries, and the Caesars article has the casino.
The vehicles' fit
An SUV for six with the bottles in the back; a Sprinter for fourteen with the table for the picnic; the thirty-passenger bus with the washroom for the ten-hour day; a luxury sedan for the couple; the fleet page has each and the desk says which fits the group.
The Detroit addition, in detail
A Windsor overnight with passports adds a Detroit evening across the Ambassador Bridge or the Gordie Howe: the stadium district, the Fox Theatre, the casinos; the cross-border page has the rules and the Detroit page the city.
Booking checklist for the Essex day
The date; the numbers; the pickup; the estates the group wants; lunch; the ferry if Pelee; the overnight if any; the vehicle; the organiser's card. Nine lines to the desk and the desk books the tastings, the ferry and the inn and sends the quote.
The honest summary
Essex County is Ontario's quieter wine country two hours west, Pelee Island its second day, and the chauffeur's day by the hour the way to do both; the wine, brewery and distillery tours page has the service.
A worked example: the Sprinter's June day
Twelve friends for a fiftieth in June: Byron at 8:30, the Tilbury ONroute at 10, a lakeside estate's tasting at 10:45, a Harrow boutique at noon, lunch on the lakeside estate's patio at 1, two Colchester estates at 2:45 and 3:45, Colchester's beach at 4:30, and home at 8; a Sprinter for eleven and a half hours at $160, $1,840 plus HST, $153 a head, with the bottles in the back and the desk's bookings at each tasting room. The rates page has the Sprinter's hours.
The desk's rule of thumb
Leave by 8:30; four or five estates and not eight; lunch on the shore; water aboard; the thirty for a bus day; Pelee as a second day with the Kingsville overnight; Niagara first and Essex second; and the tastings booked ahead. The wine, brewery and distillery tours page has the service.
Booking it, in one line
The day is one email or call to the desk with the date, the numbers, the pickup and the estates; the desk books the tastings, the ferry and the inn and sends a written quote within a working day.
